[3] In 2013, she received her bachelor's degree from The New School's Eugene Lang College, where she created an original concentration in cultural criticism.
[4] She named Toni Morrison, Janet Mock, Manohla Dargis, and Greg Tate as writers who are particularly influential to her work.
[5][6] Blay's writing has been in published in The New York Times, The Village Voice, IndieWire, Film Comment, and others.
[10] She coined the viral hashtag #CarefreeBlackGirl on Twitter in October 2013, as a method "to assert and affirm my right to exist.
[12][2] The book explores topics including colorism, the policing of Black women's bodies,[2] Cardi B,[2] and her insights as a working journalist.